By Annette Immel-Very / very elderly people often seem fragile. Although wasting and weight loss corresponds to the typical picture of advanced age, this condition is not necessarily and certainly not desirable. Targeted measures can counteract the weight loss and improve the prognosis. The sooner you start, the better.
The group of old people is very heterogeneous. Firstly, the physical and mental health of people over 75 years is very different. This requires the degree of their independence and mobility or their auxiliaries and care. Secondly, the circumstances, including the financial situation is very different: living alone, with a partner, in a larger family, retirement or nursing home. All these factors affect the nutritional status, physical activity and thus health and quality of life.
Figure 1: Effects of malnutrition, sarcopenia and cachexia on body weight and body composition
Gradual changes
Many old people lose weight, and their body composition changes. This is often barely noticeable, because the processes are slow and not initially notice. In a study of living at home care Older people in Germany showed that 59 percent had been taken care of. This seems all the more astonishing than their life was mostly stayed in familiar paths. With more than 70 percent of the elderly members were preparing meals, about two-thirds ate predominantly in society (1).
